Why Jeannine is the “smart” one

At first glance, Jeannine doesn’t seem to be very bright. She’s simple. She spends her days tidying the apartment, caring for her cat (and Cal), and then goes to work at the library. The Depression leaves her with little money, but she dresses with as much style she can afford. Her head is full of stories about things from mermaids to murder mysteries- alternate, fantastical realities to liven her otherwise mundane life. The biggest aspirations in her life are to get married (to someone, anyone) and have children. But, Jael says Jeannine “is potentially the most intelligent of [them] all” (162). Jeannine doesn’t argue with what she’s told to do and how she’s told to act. She always listens to what the men have to say. She knows it’s just easier to accept what they tell her; even if she does argue, they’re just going to tell her to shut up and that she’s just a dumb girl (or bitch, depending on the situation) anyways. Cal’s arguing and whining (mostly whining) is a prime example of life being easier if you agree. It’s just easier to save her breath. Because of this, many people underestimate Jeannine. They don’t realize that just because she doesn’t say anything, doesn’t mean she has nothing to say.

Going back to her day-to-day life, Jeannine spends most of the day cleaning. “She bends and bends,” (106). Although the initial reading of this line suggests she is bending to pick things up and clean. But Jeannine bends more than that; she bends to Cal’s every whim, to her family’s, and to society’s. Toward the end of the novel, we can see she’s had enough bending. Joanna says that Jeannine sleeps in late, doesn’t clean until it really bothers her, and even plays with her food. Jeannine is more than accepting, downright eager, when Jael asks her about join the war against men. She bent so much that she finally snapped. She got sick of the easy way out and is reclaiming her life back.

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4 Responses to Why Jeannine is the “smart” one

Great post!
Why do you think that Russ has her join Jael? I see some potential alternatives. She could have said that she wanted to do something, but war wasn’t the answer. It’s a great point that she finally snapped. the oppression was too much, she was aware of an alternative, and she took it. Why war though? Russ presents it as a dystopia, yet ultimately, Jeannine and Joanna choose it.

Sierra,
I think Jeannine and Joanna (but especially Jeannine) chose war with Jael because it was the most active. Fighting against men gives Jeannine a purpose, a significant one, one other than aiming to please the men in her life. While there were other avenues in which Jeannine could have taken or explored, war was the opportunity presented to her where she could be an active participant in ending her oppression. I think that’s appealing to a lot of people. Jeannine finally has some sense of agency.

Jessica,
I find it ironic that Jeannine goes from being a puppet for Cal to “bending” to the will of Jael. Jael, to me, has the most masculine traits, with her outspokenness, her ability to fight, her desire for physicality before anything else. Does this correspond to Jeannine needing to follow a, hypothetically, “man’s” lead? Is Jeannine actually taking control of herself, or is she swapping her puppet master in Cal for a different one in Jael?

I know that both of my comments addressed to both of you seem contradictory, but I also don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. Maybe giving up herself to a Jael rather than Cal is a necessary evil, or the lesser of two evils, and seems like her best option at the time. Jeannine is making one choice at a time, and hopefully by the end of it all, she has a semblance of independence.

Sierra-
I think Russ has Jeannine join Jael because Jeannine has never seen such power and confidence in a woman and wishes to embody that too.She always reads this interesting stories and now she sees this real-life, living-and-breathing action book character who wants to whisk her away on adventures and kick some men’s asses. To Jeannine, this sounds pretty amazing compared to her life. Also, Jeannine probably wants to understands Jael’s world more than Janet’s or Joanna’s. Jeannine and Jael live in men versus women societies; Jeannine’s is much less extreme violent; women are more submissive and passive to the situations in which they deal with men. Jael deals with men in a more aggressive and fatal way. I think that they can both related to not liking men, probably Jeannine not as extreme. But like I said before, Jeannine has never seen this in a woman and I think she’s fascinated with the possibility that that could be her.

Janae-
That’s actually a really interesting point. I don’t think that Jeannine would have made the choice (or any choice other than getting married and settling down) without meeting Jael. I don’t think she realized before meeting Jael that there are other options. Given the situation she was in before though, she might have thought anything is better than this, regardless of who is offering. Jael is the lesser of two evils in terms of Jeannine’s independence, so that may be why she goes with Jael.

I think this point also reminds me of some people today. it is so much easier to sit down and just let things happen than it is to stand up, or address problems and I think that a lot of people “bend and bend” until they can’t anymore just to make it work while they can.